“Like all of television—daytime, nighttime, news, morning programming—the ratings have been in freefall for a very long time,” Bergman acknowledges. “I think some young suit walked in and said, ‘How about if we change the whole paradigm, what if we put on a show that had half the viewers that ALL MY CHILDREN had but only cost one-third what All My Children did, wouldn’t we come out ahead?’ And no one in the room said, ‘What are you talking about!?’ Networks aren’t idiots but I just think too many bean-counters got in there.”

Cady McClain in PARADE: 'ALL MY CHILDREN Stories Are Moving Much Faster'
"It’s been a wild and wooly week in Pine Valley. Not only did some fun new faces show up, but jaw-dropping events and Emmy award-worthy performances kept both cast and crew on the edge of our seats! But lets get real: as actors we are only as good as the words we speak, so this weeks blog is a peek behind why the writing on ALL MY CHILDREN deserves a big round of applause."

New York Times: Old Soaps Reborn Online
Neil Genzlinger harshly reviews AMC & OLTL: "The acting ranges from mediocre to outright bad, especially on ALL MY CHILDREN. Any scene involving a couple over the age of 50 has the treacly gloss of a Viagra commercial. Any young characters are played by actors far too old for the roles. Any parent with a teenager is clueless about how to communicate with him or her. And the writers do not always seem up to the task of giving the actors signature moments. Fan boards were full of complaints when, on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Victor apparently came back from the dead, and the other characters seemed only vaguely surprised."

Variety: NewFronts Recap - Stars Come Out for Internet Video
Soap stars on hand at Hulu’s pitch session included actors from ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Sudsers, reborn in new productions by Prospect Park after ABC canceled them in 2011, debuted on Hulu last week. “We are not just daytime TV. We are anytime TV,” OLTL’s Erika Slezak said.

The president has a speaking role – four lines. He plays Mr. Chapman, the CFO of the Forrester's family fashion house, Forrester Creations. Doti was invited by show producer and Chapman alumnus Casey Kasprzyk, who started at CBS with an internship through Chapman.

CORONATION STREET star Liz Dawn suffers heart attack
The 73-year-old, who has already been diagnosed with incurable lung disease, was taken to hospital on Monday after complaining of chest pains at her apartment in Whitefield, Greater Manchester. She is known to soap fans as CORRIE's Vera Duckworth, a role she took on in 1974.

8 comments:

I, for one, am glad that the NYT gave an honest critique of AMC and OLTL.

The reviewer is correct by writing that one really needed a working knowledge of the shows to be able to watch and stay interested. That's not a way to gain new viewers.

Also, it's the first honest review I've seen. Every one else has been so happy to have the shows back, no one has stepped back to look with a critical eye and talk about not only the weaknesses, but what can be done to improve the shows.

I hope that they succeed and that these folks have jobs for many years to come, but gone are the days that a show just has to be on for it to last.

Yeah, I have to admit that the return of Victor fell flat, and it's not gotten any better. It's ridiculous that NOBODY has pressed him for answers to how he went from dead to alive and what happened in the interim.

Hoorah, an honest review of AMC and OLTL without all the PR bullsh*t that the soap opera press has been printing. Has anyone in the soap press said one critical thing about these shows? Nope, too busy gushing about them without the critique that is given to every other show. These rebooted soaps are vastly flawed and it needs to be said and addressed. They will never capture the new viewers they need to survive turning out the crap they have so far.

How can that reviewer have an honest perspective of either soap when HE NEVER WATCHED a DAY OF AMC AND OLTL. He balks at who characters are like on amc when someone spoke of bianca he said in his article "bianca"???. What soap opera watcher or critique doesnt know that Bianca is ERICA KANES DAUGTHTER my goodness my husband who never watched a day of a soap in his life knows that. One shouldnt critique a tv show ESPECIALLY a soap when the have NEVER SEEN a day of it before. Yes there were flaws(the whole victor reveal fell flat i totally agree)but what soap doesnt have flaws. My argument is if the "journalast did their homework and bothered to watch a few episodes on you tube then review it i would be ok with the review.For me this was not an honest review of amc and oltl.

The review was intentionally written from the perspective of someone who had never watched the shows. THAT WAS THE POINT. I think it was made fairly obvious in the article.

Seeing as how Prospect Park is counting on adding new viewers who have never seen AMC or OLTL, he makes very valid points about the story structure and dialogue on both shows. If the shows are to succeed, they must capture new viewers and keep them.

His opinions being different from your own doesn't have any bearing on his credibility as a journalist.

I am enjoying both shows. Just because someone likes AMC and OLTL doesn't make them wrong. Your basic premise is the shows suck and everyone else is either fanwanking or wrong. I personally happen to be very entertained.

The shows are great- neither are perfect but so what. On either shows worst day both will be better than a certain cooking show or another talk show trying to turn us into teachable moments . In my opinion, the critique seems trite. Signature moments happen in context. It is only week 2. We are reconnecting with these characters. This is process not a moment and that's what true fans know and love about the genre. You don't just crack 2 eggs and mix. THANK god! These characters are seductive. As a fan, we may not know where the story is going but that is the rush. Secondly, his commentary about the age of the actors is so weak. Usually, I dispose of trash but this time I'll validate it. The actors are believable. I want someone who can convey the intentions of the characters convincingly, as well as, the universal truths that make the stories interesting to all . In AMCs last years the younger actors were boring and flat(sorry Asher/Colby). The new characters are not. Moreover, the stories are not preachy. Rather, the shows are interesting and fresh, while still being true to their respective super objectives. Many people are bigots. AMC is addressing this with the Miranda story and its interesting and compelling, especially since the Supreme Court will rule on gay marriage very soon. You dont have to be an NYT journalist to know that people in their 50s do have sex. As someone in my 20s, Angie and Jessie seem so much more interesting. Finally, they seem real. Angie even went off on a few people at the hospital. Again, I loved it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.